Maurice Clarett Didn’t Sell Memorabilia Because He Was ‘On a Different Level’

Talking to any former college football player about illegal benefits is always an adventure. Talking to a guy like Maurice Clarett is bound to be even more of an adventure, albeit one that you might not be able to comprehend. As you all know, Clarett was banned from the Ohio State football program after his Freshman season and — after finding himself in trouble with the law — was never able to establish a successful NFL career. Still, he surprisingly had nothing negative to say about Jim Tressel.

“There was no need to,” Clarett explained. “I was on a different level just through playing.”

Maurice did go on to defend players who buy expensive cars in college saying, “it’s not like they’re committing crimes in those cars.” He also added that players go out in the community and form their own relationships with agents and such, noting that coaches and the university have no control over it.

I’m assuming what Clarett means by the “on a different level” comment is that he expected to move on to a successful NFL career and make millions of dollars anyway, so there was no need to accept gifts or sell memorabilia while in college. That’s a fair point I suppose, but it didn’t exactly turn out as planned for him. Not to mention, there are plenty of high profile players who have been accused of receiving improper benefits, so that reasoning is apparently not shared amongst all of Clarett’s peers.